Fast Forward

First, before I start back into my blog (yes it has been some time), I wanted to start it off with a thank you…

It seems almost surreal in a way, with the many opportunities that have presented themselves in various ways over the years. From the time of my first “real” job as a police officer for a good part of almost 15 years, to ownership of one of the most recognized mobile forensic companies (snapped up by a global forensic company-regretfully), to seeing those in that company, not to be named, for who they really are, to writing a mobile forensic book, to now working at one of the leading innovators in mobile forensics. Quite honestly, I would have never imagined I would have been so lucky to have so many incredible experiences, met so many fantastic individuals, and be given these types of opportunities. I quite often sit back and try to think of a time I would have thought I would get the chance to interact with some of the most influential individuals in forensics. To you all, I owe you a massive thank you.

So, lets start off with some excerpts from my currently available book: Mobile Forensic Investigations: A Guide to Evidence Collection, Analysis, and Presentation , which is just a brain dump over the last 12 years of mobile forensic research and practice. Here are some tidbits on Google Hangouts:

• /data/com.google.android.talk/databases/babel.db This SQLite database is the conversation database for active conversations, participant names, messages, and information about the Google Hangout event. There can be multiple babel.db databases, and each database name will be followed by an integer starting with 0 (e.g., babel0.db,babel1.db,babel3.db).

• /data/com.google.android.talk/shared_prefs/accounts.xml This Google Hangout XML file lists key information to the Hangout owner and preferences for the account.

Often, in software applications for mobile forensics, information within applications are not immediately parsed. What this means for an examiner is simple: there is work ahead. The information must often be manually identified and extracted. Hopefully the information will be helpful in a Google Hangouts examination.

I am so excited to be back to contributing to not only the Mobile Device Examiner blog, but to the community in general. Please subscribe to the blog, and do not forget to leave comments and suggestions.

About Lee Reiber

Pioneering mobile device forensic examiner, consultant and trainer, software development innovator and former LE officer with the Boise Police Department